Apparatus for protecting electric power systems



March l(5, 1949. R. R.Bus|| 2,464,553

APPARATUS FOR ROTECTINGYELECTRIKC POWER SYSTEMS March l5, 1949. R. R. BUSH 2,464,553

n APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEMS Filed Jan( 4, 1945 `f s sheets-sheet 2 sa if@ 404s 9 l l fr v 1756 A. a ,ztk' z/ Y Civ-Cuib 4 Circuit intnrv-upbnr Y Interrupt-,nr

Inventor:- Ralph 'R'. Bush,

b3 ,1s/WHW His Attornes.

, APPARATUS Fon` P noTEcTING ELECTRIC Pom SYSTEMS Fild JB!!- 4, 1945 R. R. BUSH Much is, 1949.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 u, N m /U uw m VLM v L. M PII@ .Jlr-z x 'u E o W .5

Invnentor:

Ralph 'R Bush` b .1i/My 6,() 's His Attor'rse's.

Patented Mar. 15, 1949 APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEMS Ralph R. Bush, Upper Darby, Pa., assigner to General Electric Company, .a corporation of New York Application January 4, 1945, Serial No. v571,252.1

13 Claims. (Cl. 175-294) My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for protecting electric power systems on the occurrence of abnormal circuit conditions and especially faults of a transient character.

Electric storms, winds, broken tree branches and the like frequently cause arcing between the line conductors of electric power systems and also between the line conductors and ground. Although such transient faults may initially involve only one conductor or one phase of a |polyphase system, they will, if allowed to continue, frequently spread to more conductors and even develop into faults of a persistent character. At the arcing point, the metal of the conductor is burned. This weakens the conductor often to the breaking point, thereby interrupting the much desired continuity ci service on the faulty part of the system. If a line conductor breaks and falls to ground, it constitutes an electrical hazard until suchtime as fault clearing devices between the break and the power supply or supplies operate. In so doing, continuity oi service on the sound part of the system is also interrupted. Even if the conductor does not break, the system circuit interrupting devicesgsuch as circuit breakers, fuses and the like, are apt to open and thus interrupt service.

Arrangements have been proposed for elimihating the troubles consequent urpon faults of a transient character. As far as I am aware, these have involvedY close coordination between a short circuiting device and a circuit breaker between this device and the source cr between a short circuiting device and a separate circuit interrupting device at the same location. One other arrangement embodies the use of a specially proportioned inductance, but this serves only to suppress arcs involving one conductor and ground.

' An object of my invention is to provide improved protective apparatus for preventing material damage to system conductors and other equipment on the occurrence of faults of a transient character such as short circuits caused by arcs between system conductors or between a system conductor and ground.' Another object of my invention is to [provide improved protective apparatus which will maintain the maximum continuity of service under faults of transient character and yet insure the necessary isolation of faults of a persistent character. A further object of my invention is to provide an improved variant time sequence switching form of protective apparatus which does not require more than one device for protectinga line conductor and which is self-timing in both sequential closing and opening of its contacts and hence does not have to .be coordinated with any circuit breakers between its location and the source. These and other objects oi.' my invention will appear in more detail hereinafter.

In accordance with my invention, I provide an improved electromagnetically operated selfvarianttiming switch -form of protective device which operates quickly on the occurrence of a fault to short circuit the fault on the supply side long enough to insure the extinction of the arc if the fault is of a transient character and then quickly short circuits its operating winding to remove the short circuit across the fault and also establishes a path for the flow of current to the fault for a predetermined time suiiicient to effect the operation of isolating or interrupting devices on the system and particularly between the device and the fault if the fault is of a persistent character.

My invention will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying three sheets of drawings, and its scope wili be pointed out in the appended claims.

vIn the accompanying three sheets oi drawings, Fig. 1 is a schematic illustrationV ci protective apparatus embodying my invention as applied to a single phase alternating current :power system under normal operating conditions; Fig. 2 is an illustration similar to Fig. 1 showing the first operative change of the apparatus immediately following 2. fault involving the system phase conductors; Fig. 3 is an illustration similar to Fig. l showing the next operative change or the apparatus; and Fig. iis a diagrammatic illustration showing the application of protective apparatus.

embodying my invention to a, three phase alterhating current power system having a grounded neutral.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and oi the drawings, I have shown an embodiment of my invention in an electromagnetic switching device comprising two sets of relatively movable cooperating contacts l, 2 and 3, i and means for eiiecting a. closing operation of one set of contacts l, 2. As shown, this closing means includes an actuating winding such as a solenoid or coil 5 provided with an armature G from which the movable Contact lis suspended by suitable means such as an insulating member all to be suitably guided, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For effecting a circuit opening operation of the contacts I and 2 when thercoil 5 is deenergized, I provide means tending to move the contact 2 upeccesso 3 ward. As shown, this means comprises a link 8 which is pivotally connected to the armature 6 and to a lever S at l and il, respectively. The lever '9 is pivotally supported at l2 and biased for clockwise rotation by suitable means such as a spring i3 under compression. As shown, the spring l 3 is mounted on a guide roost l t. For normally maintaining the contacts 3, d in the circuit open position, l mount the movable contact on 'a lever lo which is pivotally supported at M5 and helcl against clockwise' rotation or circuit closing l provide means lor releasing the latch il and moving the contact lever i5 to the closed cir= cult position and there holding it. For releasing the latch il, it is provided with a tail 2@ which entends into the path of movement of a projection on the lever such, for example, as a nin 2i so that, duringthe counterclccltvvise or closing movement ci the lever il, the latch lll is turned clockwise against the bias oi the seriner l@ to the released position shown in me. 2,

For moving the switch lever i5 into the circuit closing position with a snap action, as soon as the latch il' is released, l provide suitable means such as an actuating crank 2i which is nivotally supported at i@ and which is resiliently coupled to the switch lever lll. is shown, this resilient coupling comprises a lost rnotionlinlt such as a post 225 which is nivoted ct to en extension 2o ci the cranlr. 22 and which is guided between pins 2@ on the switch lever l @n the oost be tween the switch lever and the arm oi the cranlz 22, there is a serine 2l under slight corn-s nression. is shown in Fe'. l, the crank Z2 is biased ior ccunterclocltvrise rotation against a ston 2i! by suitable means such as a spring i9 so as thereby to carry the contact operating lever i6 together contact il to the onen nositlon in which they are shown in Flc, l wherein the latch il ene/egcs with the upper enel oi the lever itl.

-lor rotating the croi/il; 22 clockwise to increaseV the compression ci' the spring il so to insure the desired sono action or the switch lever i5 when the latch il is released, Il provide a roller which is arranged to be actuated by the movement of the lever 9 to encore the cranll: k22 along its edge 3i. To etl'ect this action, the roller 30 is pivotally mounted at the junction 3i? of o link I3 and an anni@ which are respectively pivotally mounted at 2l on the lever c and at a stationary point 35. ln order to maintain the switch lever l5 in the closed circuit. position shown in Fis. 3 after the movement ci the lever il from the position shown in Fic. 2 to its initial position shown in Fig. 3 and also Fig. i, I provide suitable means such as a latching member @o which, as shown, is pivotally supported at and is arranged to engage a suitably notched portion lll in the portion of the crank 22 to the left or its pivotal support I6. For eecting clockwise rotation of the latching member 38 into the latcliinc position, Iiprovide suitable biasing means such as o. spring lill For opening the contacts 3, 4 Vc predetermined time after their closing, I provide a time mechanism 39 which, as shown, is arranged to be energized' or set in response to the downward or circuit closing movement ci the armature 6. As illustrated, the timing mechanism 39 is of the pawl and ratchet escapement type and is ar ranged to effect the release of the latcliing mem ber 3B so that the crank 3l is free to rotate counter clockwise under the bias of its spring 29 and thereby cause the circuit opening movement of the switch lever i5. As illustrated, the timing mechanism 39 comprises a gear train including main sears 40 and di and an intermediate gear it. These gears oil, @l and i2 are respectively rotatable on axes Q3, M and to. The main gear @il is connected to the latching member S5 by n lost motion link 66 and is biased ior countercloclzwise rotation by suitable means such as a spring il which is attached to a crank Il@ rigidly esem elated with the gear tl. The main gear M is coupled to an escapement wheel t8 through an over-running pawl E@ and o ratchet wheel 5l rigidly associated with the escaccment wheel t9 so as to rotate therewlthon an ortis 52. The

' pawl o@ is held against the ratchet wheel, Si by a. suitable closing ineens such as a leal spring The escaceinentwheel lo is controlled by a pallet ofi. For energizing the timing mechanis-m it during the downward movement of the Y armature the main gear il@ is provided with a rigidly associated arm @o which extends into the path of movement of the roller Eomounted on the pivot li at the junction of the lever o and the iinlt In order to obtain a dennite sequence in the closing and opening operations of the contacts i, 2 and il, il in response to a predetermined enerygizatlon of the coil El, l so errance the contacts 3, e as effectively to deenercise the coil when the contacts il, l are closed. Thus, as shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the Xcoil o is connected across the contacts 3, l so es to be short circuited there by when these contacts close. With this arrangement, it will be apparent that when the coil 5 is energized by current above .a predetermined value, the contacts l, 2 are very culclxly closed. preferably in less than one-sixtieth o a second for the application of devices embodying my irivention as hereinafter set ioith. The contacts 3, o close quickly thereafter as the armature t finishes its stroke in the closing direction to trip latch il during the closure oi contacts l, is soon as the contacts 3, t close, the winding il is deenergized and the contacte i, onen in a matter of one-tenth to one-haii semnol because of the inertia oi the parts and added time delay, if necessary. Subsequently the contacts t, o 'open in a predetermined time dependent on the setting of the time mechanism 3S. Since most of the mechanism herein described will, in general, be mounted in a hollow insulator filled with oil deeply enough to immerse the contacts 3, c and the remaining mechanism enclosed by a housing mounted on top of the insulator, itis desirable to be able to determine at a. glance whether the contacts i, 2 are open or closed. For this purpose, the leverv 9 may be provided with a pointer extension Bl which movesacross a. window Iin the housing. not shown, and, by its up or down position, indicates whether the contacts l, 2 are closed or open.

The protective aparatus described above is illustrated as applied to the protection' ot a single .phase alternating current power system compris-l ing a source Il. I'he system conductors are shown in broken line to give a concept of distance. As shown, the source Il is connected to a load circuit or network ll through a circuit interrupter 6I and other circuit interrupting means 62 with the coil I of the short circuiting device connected in series in the circuit between the interrupters 6I and 62. 'I'he contacts I and 2 are arranged when closed to short circuit the circuit il, and the contacts 3 and 4 are arranged when closed to short circuit the .coil l. The circuit interrupters 6I and 62 are not necessary for the operation of apparatus embodying my-invention. In practice, however, they are generally found in some form such as a fuse ora circuit breaker and, lwhen used, may be located at any desirable Vassunse roller" in consequence of the release of the armature 6, the timing mechanism 36, which was energized during the downward movement of the roller 56, is free to run through its escapement tof effect the release of the latch 36 after a predetermined time delay whereby to permit the return oi' the switch lever I5 to the circuit open position under the b ias of the spring 28. The time delay of the timing mechanism 29 should be sulcient to permit the operation of the circuit interrupter 62 in the event that the fault 83 is of a persistent type which the closing of the contactsA I and 2 cannot clear. At the expiration of the timing period, the parts are returned to the position point or points which are in no'way dependent on the positioning of apparatus embodying my invention. The circuit interrupter 6I, it a circuit breaker, may be arranged fora predetermined cycle of reclosures and lockout, examples oi which are well known to the art. On the occurrence of a fault on the load circuit 60, the circuit interrupter 62 should operate With a predetermined time delay before isolating the load. For relatively low voltage distribution systems, 4800 volts for example, fuses'are in general satisfactory. Usually other fuses will be in series with the circuit interrupter E2 in the load network, as is well known to the art, and for selectively these fuses will have graded time delays so that the fuse nearest the fault tends to operate first. However, no fuse should operate in a time shorter than that required for apparatus embodying my invention to function to close so that transient faults may be extinguished without service interruption.

Assuming now a fault such as a short circuit across the conductors 66 to occur on the load side of the short circuiter, as indicated at 63, then suiiicient current will ilow from the source 59 to the fault to cause the coil 5 to move the armature 6 to the circuit closing position and thereby effect 4the closing of the contacts I and 2, as shown in Fig. 2. Immediately upon the closing of these contacts, the fault 63 is short circuited. The contacts' I, 2 remain closed for a period long enough to effect the extinction of an arc, and the fault 63 will be cleared if it is of a. transient or arcing character.

In its downward movement, the armature 6 effects the clockwise movement of the actuating crank 3! whereby to compress the spring'21 so that, upon the release of the latch I 'I in consequence of the downward movement of the pin 2 I, the switch lever I5 is caused to move clockwise near the'end of the armature stroke thereby to cause the closing of the contacts 3, 4 and the holding of the crank 3l' which is engaged by the latch 36. During the downward movement of the roller 5B, the arm 55, rigidly associated with the main gear 40 of the timing mechanism 39, is turned clockwise to energize this mechanism. Upon the closing of the contacts 3, 4, the coil 5 is short circuited. The parts are now positioned as shown in Fig. 2 wherein both sets of contacts are closed and the timing device 38 is set.

As soon as the coil 5 is short circuit'ed, the energy stored in the spring I3 during the counterclockwise movement of the lever 9 is available to eiect the return movement of the armature l whereby the contacts I and 2 are opened after a delay in the neighborhood of one-tenth of a second. The parts are now positioned as shown in Fig. 3. Following the upward movement of the shown in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that in apparatus embodying my invention a faultI on the load circuit is so quickly cleared in case oi transient or arcing faultsv that damage to com ductors in consequence of burning is reduced to a minimum without any effective interruption ci service. On the other hand, if a fault is not ci a transient character, current flow is maintained long enough to insure that interrupting devices on the load side of the short circuiter can function to clear a persistent fault. Further, it will he obn vious that with short circuiter-s embodying my in ventlon, there is no absolute necessity for any special circuit interrupting devices between the source 59 and the short circuiter.

In Fig. 4, I have `illustrated very diagrammatically the application of short circuiting apparatus embodying my'invention to a three phase alternating current system comprising a source 64. As shown, this s'ource has a grounded neutral and is connected to a load circuit comprising con ductors 65, 66 and 67 through a circuit breaker 68 and fuses 69. 'I'he circuit breaker 68 can be omitted. In each phase conductor between the pole of the circuit breaker 68 and the fuse 69 in the phase conductor in question, there is connected the coil 5 of a short circuiting device embodying my invention. The stationary contacts l of the short circuiting devices are connected to a common grounded point, as shown, and the coil 5 of each short circuiter is arranged to be short circuited by its contacts 3 and 4 as heretofore enplained.

With this arrangement, it will be apparent that, on the occurrence of a short circuit between any two phase conductors, the short circuiter in each phase will operate to close its' contacts I and 2 whereby to complete a metallic short circuit to close the faulted phase conductors on the side of the fuses 69 toward the source. In this way, a transient fault embodying two phase conductors will be cleared. If, however, a transient fault involves one phase conductor to ground, then the energization of the winding 5 of the short circuiter in the grounded conductor will close the contacts I and 2 of this short circuiter thereby completing a short circuit to ground between the fuse 69 in the grounded conductor and the source. `This short circuit will.

clear the arc-over to ground. The grounding of two different phase conductors substantially simultaneously is in effect a short circuit between the conductors, and the short circuiter in each conductor will operate. If, in any case, the fault is of a persistent character, the short circuiters which operate will close their contacts 3 and to restore full current flow to the faulted conductor or conductors whereby to effect the operation of the fuses 69 in the faulted conductor or conductors.

means adapted to be closed to short circuit said circuit, a second contact means operative when closed to -short circuit said winding, means including said winding for substantially instantaneously closing said iirst contact means on the occurrence of an abnormal condition of said circuit and for closing said second contact means while the first contact means is still closed, means for re-cpening said first contact means after a predetermined time suflicient for a transient abnormal circuit condition to clear, and means for re-opening said second contact means after a time suiilcient for said interrupting means to clear a nontransient abnormal circuit condition.

9. For the protection of an electric power system wherein a source of electromotive force is connected to a circuit; electromagnetic switching means comprising an actuating winding for connection in series relation in said circuit, a iirst contact means adapted to be closed to short circuit said circuit, a second contact means operative when closed to short circuit said winding, means including said winding for substantially instantaneously closing said first contact means on the occurrence of an abnormal condition oi said circuit and for closingsaid second contact means while the first contact means is still closed, means for re-opening said iirst contact means after a predetermined time suilicient for a transient abnormal circuit condition to clear, and means for re-opening said second contact means after a different predetermined time.

10. For the protection of an electric power system wherein a source'of electromotive force is connected to a circuit; electromagnetic switching means comprising an actuating winding for connection in series relation in said circuit, a first contact .means adapted to be closed to short circuit said circuit, a second contact means operative when closed to short circuit said winding, means including said winding for substantially instantaneously closing said iirst contact means on the occurrence of an abnormal condition'of said circuit and for closing said second contact means while the ilrst contact means is still closed, means for subsequently re-opening said first contact means after a predetermined time, and means for re-opening said second contact means after a greater predetermined time.

. 11. A variant time sequence switching device comprising two sets of separately operable contacts having sequential closing mechanism provided with an operating winding for efiecting closure of one of said sets of contacts upon a predetermined energization of said winding, biasing means for opening said one set oi' contacts upon the deenergization of said winding, said mechanism having mechanical connections for closing the other set oi contacts during the closure of said one set of contacts and said other set of oon- 10 tacts having electrical connections for deenergizing said winding upon closure thereof, separate biasing means for opening said other set of contacts, and time delay holding means having operating means rendered effective upon each energization of said winding for maintaining said other set of contacts closed for a substantial time interval after the deenergization of said winding. 12. A vari-ant time sequence switchingr device comprising two separately operable sets of contacts having sequential closing mechanism prof vided with an operating winding connected across energize said winding upon the closing of the ilrst set of contacts to cause the corresponding biasing means to eiect an immediate opening of said first set of contacts after their closure, and time delay holding means for delaying the opening of said last set of contacts a predetermined time after the deenergization of said winding.

13. A variant time sequence switching device comprising two separately operable sets of contacts having sequential closing mechanism provided with an operating armature, means including a winding for attracting said armature to close one of said sets of contacts upon a predetermined energization of said winding. separate biasing means for opening each set of contacts when said armature is unattracted, said closing mechanism having a snap action latch mechanism for quickly closing-the other set of contacts after the closing oi said one set of contacts and said other set oi' contacts having connections for short-circuiting said winding to release the armature upon closure thereof, and

0 latch mechanism for holding the other set o1' contacts closed having a time delay trip mechanism rendered effective upon movement of the armature to the attracted position for eecting the release oi ,the other set of contacts a predetermined time after their closing.

RALPH R. BUSH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are oi? record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS.

Mathews Juno 2.6, 1944 

